Inside the Braves with MLB.com's Mark Bowman

Jones will not talk retirement again until the end of the year

Chipper Jones has confirmed that he is leaning toward retiring at the conclusion of this season. But while delivering this information about an hour before Thursday night’s first pitch at Turner Field, the Braves third baseman said that he will not address this issue again until the season is over.

“I think that we should concentrate on what we need to concentrate on and that’s the fact that this team is in first place and that we’re trying to get into the playoffs” Jones said. “Any more retirement talk will be reserved until the end of the season. Let’s let Bobby (Cox) have his just do and let him get the attention he deserves.

“Honestly I haven’t made a decision either way. Let’s face it. We all know sort of which way I’m leaning. But I think it’s best that we put this all behind us. Somehow the cork got taken out and I’m putting it back in right now. I don’t want to hear any more talk about retirement until the end of the season.”

Before addressing the media, Jones met with Braves president John Schuerholz and other club officials. They obviously were concerned that the retirement talk surrounding him was an unnecessary distraction for the club.

I’ll tell you one thing, Dr Trade.. I would rather have a 1 legged Chipper Jones at 3B than have Hicks or Canizares on the club playing on a regular basis. I think that even with his woes this year, I would rather have Chipper hitting third and Heyward hitting second or wherever else, cause he doesn’t need that pressure. He hit so well lower in the order for a reason. At least pitchers still fear Chipper and he’ll get walked and let the the big boys McCann and Glaus come up w him on first. I think someone else could hit third, but maybe it shouldn’t be the kid. But anyway… Hicks (AAA .211 BA)? Canizares? You kiddin me?

Wow, would you look at that. The NL has 66 wins in Interleague play versus the AL with only 60 wins. The Braves have the most wins in the NL right now. And the Mets are finally gonna play a tough AL team instead of those weak teams like Cleveland and Baltimore. And its nice they are gonna be facing some stiff competition in Detroit and Minnesota. I hope we didn’t completely throw the Twins off their game so they can help us out with a sound thrashing sweep of the Mets. And who can say enough about that game tonight? Its nice to see. Lets hope we can continue the winning ways against KC and Chicago.

What I find really interesting is that the battle for 1st in the NL East is between NY and ATL. The Muts are red-hot and the Phillies are barking their shin right now. I’m not saying this will be the season-long trend but it’s fun to watch all those All Star votes from Philly go by the wayside. Maybe Martin will even catch Chase before the voting closes. He sure deserves it. I remember when one of the stat guys said Martin was an inferior fielder to Kelly Johnson because of an UZR rating. I guess the jury is in on that verdict now.

And it seems theres now an opening for Wild Card leader in the NL East. Well, we already knew the NL East was going to be competitive. What is the big key for the Mets right now? Their hitting, their pitching? I know those two basement dwelling teams they played certainly didn’t put up much of a fight since both of ‘em got swept. Frenchy didn’t turn into Mr. Superstar over the last 10 days did he?

On another note though…was it good luck or laugh out loud funny that Soriano didn’t get to pitch against us? Im not sure how well we would have hit against him. But like someone mentioned before, he seemed like an enigma to me to. Almost like he didn’t want to be here anyway. He didn’t seem like he got along with anybody on the team. Just the vibe I got off him. That and the whole “Im hurt and can’t pitch even though i just signed a big contract but now thats its almost up I’ll pitch now” we went thru after we resigned him. He’s a great option to have in the pen. Gimme Wagner instead though.

Chock up another one for the LoosER rating. Kelly Johnson is a nice player with good physical skills. However, he was and is a choke in the clutch. He was always that guy that made the big error to cost us a game. If/When Prado makes mistakes, it is always physical, not mental. He wants every ball late in a game, and he wants to be the guy with the bat in his hands. Right now, this team is loaded with gamers. They almost always make a last stand in a loss, and they add on late in the wins. Neither of those traits have been seen in Atlanta for a few years now. Believing in yourself is a wonderful addition this season.
Sore-E-Arm-O never fit in here. You could see Mac doing everything he could to try to get him in, but it never worked. I don’t think he trusts anybody, which is a shame. When he is on his game he is lights out.
Right now, it is onward and upward, GO BRAVES!!!

Also, it’s too bad we’re not playing in Kansas City. In high school, they have programs to take the students to the local prison to “scare them straight.” This would be a good opportunity to show McClouth, Melky, and any other under-producing Braves where their career will end up if they don’t shape up. Kansas City.. where ex-Braves go to die. The AAAA castoffs will probably beg Bobby to let them stay when the series is over?that they can’t stand being in purgatory any longer.. Kyle Davies, Brayan Pena, Wilson Betemit, Kyle Farnsworth, Anthony Lerew, Ned Yost.. Maybe instilling some fear into the heart of Nate McLouth is just what he needs to get back on track.. he might find out that there are worse places than Pittsburg.

I know some folks don’t think Chipper should get any of the 28 mil if he retires, but if you go back and look the guy restructured his contract a couple times for less money so the team could stay in budget and spend on other big salary players. He is a team guy through and through. I think all he is looking for is some reciprocity from the organization. Works for me.

I just wanted to say that all of the Braves fans who post here are awesome. I am a friend to a few of the Braves players and families and frequently keep them updated on your comments (good or bad – or just plain weird, to be honest). I’m an an active reader of everyone’s posts on Mark’s blogs and felt compelled to finally let you all know that I appreciate your consistent posts. Keep it up!

phelps — it seems as though Frenchy, Reyes, and especially David Wright are hitting the ball really well. But that gets easier the more that you face Baltimore, we will see how they do vs. the Yanks, Tigers, Twins, and Marlins.

Bill — Martin for MVP, i’m all for it, the guy is doing it all.

viva — I agree totally, Chipper will most certainly be rewarded when he retires. The guy deserves it. Shoot, he should consider retirement more, the couple of games it was big news he hit really well.

A few other notes, I’m especially excited to see McCann swinging the bat lately. He seems to be hitting the ball hard lately. Also, with Heyward, you can tell he is working through his development. He does seem to be hitting the ball well whenever he is not fooled. Just keep swinging it kid, you’ll figure it out. Also, has anyone even notice McLouth is out, because I haven’t. Melky can start in the CF for the rest of the year as far as i’m concerned.

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